As obsessive readers and fans of dismissing quality movies as inferior to their literary counterparts, it's important for us to know which books will head to the big screen ahead of time. How else will we know how Wild Reese will be, or what is going to happen to Peeta? Be reasonable. We've decided to use our research for the good of society and share the adaptations coming soon that we are most excited for.
1. The Spook's Apprentice - Joseph Delaney (Seventh Son)
Thomas Ward (Ben Barnes) is the seventh son of the seventh son, which gives him the ability to see things that others cannot: ghosts, ghasts, boggarts, and the like. He becomes an apprentice to John Gregory, the Spook (Jeff Bridges). Julianne Moore is set to play Mother Malkin, one of the most sinister witches who uses blood magic, luring young runaway women into care before sucking their blood to maintain her youth, who was then imprisoned by the Spook. Kit Harington and Djimon Hounsou also star.
2. Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L. James
Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, in case you somehow didn't know, are stepping into the roles of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey for the adaptation of the incredibly successful erotic novel. Steele, a literature student, interviews Grey as a favor to her roommate, but quickly becomes entranced by this brilliant and handsome man who is unable to resist her. He admits his desire, but on his own terms; this is a man with a need to control everything. This is also probably going to be the movie with a bunch of heavy-breathing sweaty middle-aged women trying to control themselves in the theater. You've been warned.
3. In the Heart of the Sea - Nathaniel Philbrick
The last time Ron Howard and Chris Hemsworth teamed up, they brought us one of the best films of 2013, Rush. Now, they're at it again (along with Cillian Murphy and Benjamin Walker) with this story of a whaleship attacked by one angry whale, leaving the crew shipwrecked and stranded for 90 days, thousands of miles from land. The true story inspired a little book by Herman Melville (played in the movie by our favorite, Ben Whishaw) entitled Moby-Dick.
4. The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith (Carol)
W. W. Norton &amp; Company
Patricia Highsmith, author of successful novels-turned-movies like Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley (we're choosing to ignore the recent The Two Faces of January here), wrote The Price of Salt, which will be released as 'Carol.' The novel itself, controversial for its lesbian content and unprecedented gay happy ending, is said to have inspired Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. The film stars Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, and Sarah Paulson, with Far From Heaven and I'm Not There director Todd Haynes helming.
5. Dark Places - Gillian Flynn
Shaye Areheart Books
Gone Girl author brings us yet another chilling thriller. A young girl is the sole survivor of a massacre that leaves both of her sisters and her mother dead in an apparent Satanic cult ritual. She testifies against her brother, but 25 years later, she begins to investigate the actual events. Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nicholas Hoult, and Christina Hendricks star.
6. A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson
HarperCollins Publishers
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants director Ken Kwapis is set to direct Bryson's memoir, starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. The hilarious book describes Bryson's attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail with his friend Stephen Katz. Emma Thompson and Parks and Recreation's Nick Offerman will also star.
7. Insurgent - Veronica Roth
As conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows, a war looms for Divergent's post-apocalyptic Chicago. In this sequel, we're still following Shailene Woodley and Theo James' Tris and Four as they try to understand the reasons for Erudite's insurrection and obtain information the Abnegation are trying to protect. Kate Winslet, Zoë Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, and Miles Teller return in their supporting roles, and are joined by some all-star names: Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, and Suki Waterhouse.
8. Serena - Ron Rash
The dynamic duo of mega-nominated movies Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle are back at it! Bradley Cooper plays a man trying to maintain his timber empire during the Depression, while Jennifer Lawrence plays his wife who discovers she can't have children. For some reason, we're a little terrified of JLaw in this movie from the trailer.
9. Silence - Shusako Endo
Taplinger Publishing Company
This 1966 novel about a Jesuit missionary sent to 17th century Japan where he endures persecution is set to be adapted by Martin Scorsese. It will also have an all star cast of Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson, Ken Watanabe, and Adam Driver.
10. The Longest Ride - Nicholas Sparks
The producers of The Fault in Our Stars, the author of The Notebook, and the hottest Hollywood son around, this movie already has us in love with it. Scott Eastwood and Britt Robertson play two lovers and there's a rodeo or something; we don't really know, we were just thinking about how much this movie will make us cry. Time to read the book.
11. Far From the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
The Hunt director Thomas Vinterberg tackles Thomas Hardy's novel. Carey Mulligan stars as Bathsheba Everdene, a woman who has too many men in love with her and of course rejects them all until she falls for one. Three men, played by Michael Sheen, Matthias Schoenaerts (Rust and Bone), and Tom Sturridge (On The Road), all after this woman: who will she end up with? We actually just read the plot description and had everything spoiled and somehow still gasped and cried at those three paragraphs. Why didn't we know about this book before?!
12. Paper Towns - John Green
Dutton Books
The Fault in Our Stars author John Green's next book to be adapted by the same team who adapted TFIOS (Scott Neustadter &amp; Michael H. Weber). Margo and her adventures are legendary at her high school, and Quentin ("Q") has always loved her for it. Margo climbs through his window and demands he take an all night road trip of revenge, but when she goes missing the next day, Q realizes she's left clues for him and promptly hits the road again in search of her. Cara Delevingne will play Margo and TFIOS' Nat Wolff will play Q.
13. The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge - Michael Punke
Carroll &amp; Graf Publishers
Academy Award-nominated Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman, 21 Grams, Biutiful) is set to direct Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy in this adaptation. Partially based on the life of fur trapper Hugh Glass. Leo will play Glass, who is mauled by a bear, then later robbed and left for dead by his companions. He survives and sets out for revenge against those same men.
14. The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry
Faber and Faber
A one-hundred-year-old woman, Roseanne McNulty, in a mental hospital for about 50 years decides to retrace her history. As the hospital faces demolition and he must choose which of his patients should be transferred and which should rejoin the community, Dr. Grene also tries to discover her history. What they find is very different, though there are some consistencies. Vanessa Redgrave and Rooney Mara will play Roseanne McNulty, Eric Bana will play Grene, with Theo James also starring.
15. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Penguin Classics
An oft-adapted novel, Mary Shelley's classic is to be turned into yet another film, this time directed by Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin, Push). The updated version, titled Victor Frankenstein, will be told from the perspective of the doctor's assistant, Igor. The film will explain how the doctor became the man who created the legendary monster. Daniel Radcliffe will play Igor and James McAvoy will play Victor Frankenstein.
16. The Martian - Andy Weir
Crown Publishing Group
Described as Cast Away meets Apollo 13, the novel follows an astronaut stranded on Mars, fighting to survive (which also sounds mildly like Gravity to us, no?). Ridley Scott is set to direct a pretty stellar (no pun intended) cast here: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Donald Glover, Kate Mara, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. This sounds like a great movie already, but we'll have to wait until November to see it.
17. The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling
Macmillan Publishers
Walt Disney Pictures is working on this live-action/CGI mash-up of the classic book, directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Chef), with a mind-bogglingly incredible cast. Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Christopher Walken, Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong'o, and Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito will provide voices, while newcomer Neel Sethi will play Mowgli.

Rap veteran Sir Mix-A-Lot turned wedding singer over the weekend (23-24Aug14) to perform his hip-hop classic Baby Got Back at the reception for basketball star Jamal Crawford and his new wife. The Los Angeles Clippers player's teammates Blake Griffin and Chris Paul and fellow sportsman Matt Barnes were among the guests who hit the dancefloor for the musical surprise.

Splash News
Glee star Chris Colfer's bestselling book series The Land Of Stories is set to hit the big screen - the actor is in talks with major movie executives about turning the tales into a new film.
The 24 year old tells Access Hollywood Live he always vowed not to consider movie deals connected to his young adult books, but now he's reconsidering.
Colfer says, "I'm starting to have those film conversations. I'm a little more open-minded to it. When I first started the series, I was completely against doing a movie... I always said I would rather it be a good book that a hundred people read, than an awful movie which a thousand people see."
"But the readers want to see the world come alive so much. Who am I to deny them of that?"

Marvel
It’s been a big week for Marvel fans. First, the company unveiled the new Thor, a woman who takes over the title and responsibilities of the God of Thunder after the current Thor is deemed unworthy to wield Mjolnir, and then the first look at the villains of The Avengers: Age of Ultron was revealed along with their new, Iron Man-centric backstories. But Marvel wasn’t quite done yet, and on Wednesday night, they turned to The Colbert Show to reveal that Sam Wilson, better known as Falcon, would be carrying the shield as the new Captain America.
The shift-in-power comes after Steve Rogers’ body has been drained of the super serum that turned him into Cap in the first place, which resulted in him rapidly ageing to better reflect his 95 years of age. Since he’s no longer to be the hero that America deserves, the mantle falls to his good buddy Sam, who will officially make his debut in the stars and stripes in All New Captain America #1. Iron Man will also be getting a makeover alongside Thor and Cap, and in the Superior Iron Man #1, fans will see Tony Stark move to San Francisco in his new, shiny silver suit, in order to make some changes that not all of the Bay Area’s residents take to, resulting in a darker, more temperamental hero. Of course, all of these changes lead to one big question: how will this affect the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thus far, the two have operated as separate continuities, but both the solo and Avengers films take their cues from the comics. But while it’s likely that Tony’s new attitude might bleed over into his movie counterpart, the real thing that fans are wondering is whether or not Anthony Mackie will get to inherit the shield from Chris Evans. And it’s a possibility we’ve been thinking a lot about as well.
Why We Might See Mackie as Captain America: Though it’s the first time that Falcon has inherited the title of Captain America, he has a long history of carrying the shield whenever Steve is hurt or otherwise incapacitated, and has temporarily filled in for Cap multiple times over his fifty year run in the comics. Although Bucky Barnes’ stint as Cap is better known, Sam actually has a bigger history in the stars and stripes to draw from. Picking Sam as the new Cap would open up a lot more possibilities for the writers in terms of the stories they could tell and the comic books they could draw from.
Depending on how many movies Evans has left in his contract, it could also allow them to switch to a new Cap sooner than they could with Bucky, who at the end of The Winter Soldier still doesn’t remember anything about his life before becoming a HYDRA super-assassin. Passing the mantle to Falcon would allow them more time with Bucky’s story, and they wouldn’t need to rush through his discovery and recovery process in order to get him into Cap’s uniform quickly. Bucky’s story is a complex, compelling one, and it would be a shame to see the films bypass a lot of what makes it so interesting simply to rush him into a new uniform. The recent films’ focus on the psychological consequences of being a superhero has been one of the most engaging and entertaining parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Bucky is a prime candidate to explore more of those issues, and to add new layers to the story.
At this point in the films, Sam is in a better position to take over for Cap. His dedication to helping Steve, no questions asked, and to supporting him on his quest to repair the damage that HYDRA has done to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the American people is very reminiscent of Steve’s willingness to do anything to protect America, its ideals, and its people. Like Steve, he is a good guy through and through, the kind of person who would protect, inspire and encourage the American people, which is exactly what Captain America is supposed to do. Sam already embodies much of what makes Captain America the hero he is, just a little flashier and a little louder. Mackie is also in a slightly better position to inherit the franchise than Sebastian Stan is. Though both are talented actors who have been working for a long time, and are just starting to break through to the mainstream, Mackie is a bit more well-known and dynamic than Stan, which will no doubt come in handy with all of the press and fan attention that the actor who plays Captain America will have to deal with. And like both Evans and Stan, Mackie is a fan favorite, having won over everyone with his enthusiasm for his character. Nobody loves Falcon more than Mackie, and nobody would love being Cap more than Mackie would.
Marvel
Why We Probably Won’t See Mackie As Captain America: Unfortunately, it seems seriously unlikely that we will ever see Sam inherit the title of Captain America on the big screen. Since Marvel plans out every part of their Cinematic Universe well in advance of the films’ release, they have been laying the seeds for Bucky to take over for Cap for some time now, dropping hints in both Captain America films that foreshadow his eventual ascent to the title. It seems unlikely that they would abandon the foundations that they have been laying for years now in order to give Sam the shield, even if it would be a smart decision.
Making Falcon the new Captain America would also risk angering the very vocal subset of fans who are reluctant to see any drastic changes made to the characters that they have become so comfortable with. Any time a character’s race gets changed – like when Miles Morales became Spider Man or Michael B. Jordan was cast as Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four or Samuel L. Jackson was picked to play Nick Fury – some fans get upset about it, and because their negative outlook gets attention from both press and other fans, the studios become convinced that their position is the one that the entire fandom holds. Studios aren’t going to want to risk alienating a major part of their audience, and so they continue to make the safest choices imaginable. Why else do you think it’s taken so long for us to get a female-fronted superhero film?
Despite the quality of their films and the diversity of the heroes and comic books they have to offer, Marvel is still focused on pleasing their fans in order to make money. That means that if they think that audiences will be happier watching the white dudes they’re comfortable with save the world, that’s what they’re going to give them. It doesn’t matter how many issues Sam’s tenure as Captain America sells, or how much praise the books get, transitioning from Evans to Stan is the safer choice, and therefore the one most likely to make the most moviegoers happy. By catering to the fans who make the most noise, even if they’re the smallest subset of the fandom, Marvel will feel like it’s catering to the entire fanbase, which is why it’s so difficult to get Hollywood studios to break away from their standard formula.
On top of that, there’s no telling exactly how long Sam’s run as Cap will last. Comic books are constantly revamping and rebooting themselves, which means that plots are constantly being retconned and changed. If Sam is only going to have a short run as Cap, then the filmmakers might be hesitant to restructure the films around this new development, especially if they’re worried about how fans will react. Yes, Bucky’s time as Cap wasn’t particularly long, but the shift in power has been around long enough that they not only know how fans feel about it, but they’ve also been able to work out how best to incorporate it into the films.
We might only get to see Sam as Captain America in the comic books, but at least we have the knowledge that even that is enough to make Anthony Mackie the happiest person on earth right now. And when Mackie's happy, everyone is.
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Marvel
After Bucky Barnes donned the Winter Soldier garb in the second Captain America movie, fans wondered whether or not he would ultimately fulfill his comic book destiny and inherit the Cap title from pal Steve Rogers. And we can't help but entertain a similar line of thought now that Marvel Comics has announced a new heir to Thor's hammer. The company utilized the platform of The View on Tuesday morning to announce the news that "the new Thor" would, in fact, be a yet unnamed female character.
"Thor, the God of Thunder, he messed up. He is no longer worthy to hold that damn hammer of his," Whoopi Goldberg, the ABC program's cohost (and clearly a devoted aficionado of the series, if her diction suggests anything). "And for the first time in history that hammer is being held by a woman ... The story behind her is she created herself. She was saved by Thor and she came down to Earth, followed him, and made herself look like Thor and so now she’s taking over."
Paramount Pictures via Everett Collection
Fans of the film universe will invariably question whether the still-gestating character will make her way into any of the string of movies yet to be released. With so many films propped for the future — following August's Guardians of the Galaxy and next years Avengers: Age of Ultron, we'll see no shortage of standalone character films like Captain America, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, the Hulk, and, naturally, another Thor feature — and considering the long arm of renowned strong-female-characters-lover Joss Whedon in the Marvel scope, we'd be remiss to deny the possibility of Thor's double-X-chromosome-laden replacement taking form on the big screen.
And such a prospect would be long overdue. Although Black Widow took a central role in The Winter Soldier, we eagerly await her proper starring feature. The Avengers: Age of Ultron will introduce Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch and an unnamed character played by Kim Soo-hyun into the mix, but will still pack a cast of predominantly male heroes and villains; meanwhile, characters like Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill and Hayley Atwell's aging Peggy Carter take a veritable backseat. A female Thor (alongside Steve Rogers or Bucky Barnes) would be a much needed addition to the formula. Although we don't know much about her just yet, we can't wait to hear more.
Something tells us a certain San Diego-based festival that's coming up soon will offer a bit of insight.
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Glee star Chris Colfer was overcome with excitement on Thursday (19Jun14) after meeting former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a book signing for her new memoir in Los Angeles. The politician and former First Lady met with fans at a Barnes & Noble store, where she autographed copies of her new book Hard Choices, and she was pleasantly surprised to come face-to-face with one of her more famous devotees.
Colfer, who had waited in line with everyone else for his one-on-one, was photographed introducing himself to a delighted Clinton, who happily posed for snaps with the 24 year old.
Taking to his Twitter.com page after the meeting, Colfer wrote, "I met @HillaryClinton today!!! Not sure if I embarrassed myself, can't remember anything I said...#adrenaline."

Actors Eric Idle, Chris O'dowd, Russell Brand and David Walliams are among the stars who have paid tribute to beloved British funnyman Rik Mayall, who died on Monday (09Jun14) at the age of 56. The shocking death has rocked the U.K. entertainment industry and tributes have since flooded in for Mayall, who established himself as a stand-up star in comedy troupe The Comic Strip, a group which also featured his college pal and future professional partner Adrian 'Ade' Edmondson and Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.
He rose to national fame as one of four students sharing a house in hit sitcom The Young Ones in 1982 and went on to enjoy a slew of iconic roles, including as a mean-spirited politician in The New Statesman and an arrogant military officer in Rowan Atkinson's comedy Blackadder. He also re-teamed with Edmondson to play a pair of hopeless single men in slapstick show Bottom.
Fellow funnyman Walliams was among the first to take to Twitter.com to express his sadness at Mayall's loss, sharing a video clip of his role in Blackadder and writing, "I am heartbroken that my comedy idol growing up Rik Mayall has died. He made me want to be a comedian."
Simon Pegg simply posted YouTube footage of Mayall in The Young Ones with fans, while Brand tweets, "And all the grown-ups will say, 'But why are the kids crying?' And the kids will say, 'Haven't you heard? Rick (sic) is dead' RIP".
Irish actor O'Dowd adds, "Very sad to hear about Rik Mayall's passing. 'Bottom' was a huge part of my youth", and director Edgar Wright posts, "Shocked and saddened that a comedy hero is gone; for those who grew up on The Young Ones, Rik Mayall was one of funniest performers ever."
Monty Python veteran Idle tweets, "Very sad to hear of the passing of Rik Mayall. Far too young. A very funny and talented man", and Blackadder producer and writer John Lloyd tells the BBC, "It's really a dreadful piece of news. He was the most extraordinarily good actor as well as being an amazing stand-up comics. Apart from being great company, he was a great professional."
Meanwhile, his close friend Edmondson has also issued a statement about the years they spent working together, declaring, "They were some of the most carefree, stupid days I ever had and I feel privileged to have shared them with him."
Mayall's cause of death has yet to be determined, but a spokesman for Scotland Yard police reveals paramedics were called to the comedian's house in Barnes, south-west London at 1.20pm local time, when "a man, aged in his 50s, was pronounced dead at the scene". His passing is not believed to be suspicious.
His death comes 16 years after the comedian was left in a coma for several days in 1998 following a quad bike accident near his home in south-west England. He survived the scare but suffered memory problems as a result of the crash.
In recent years, Mayall had concentrated mainly on voiceover work and TV shorts.

An actor and former back-up dancer for Madonna, Chris Brown and Kelly Rowland has been charged with disability fraud in California. Leroy Barnes stands accused of collecting $51,000 (£31,875) in worker's compensation benefits in 2010 and 2011 after suffering injuries when a piece of ceiling fell on him.
However, officials at the California Department of Insurance claim the 27 year old lied about his inability to work during that period as he allegedly sought employment dressing up like a hamster to film a commercial for car manufacturer Kia, and joined pop stars Madonna, Brown and Rowland as a back-up dancer.
He is currently free on bail following his arrest last month (May14).

Walt Disney Co via Everett Collection
With the recent influx of major superhero franchises, whether they’ve just been hitting theaters for the first time or have been rebooted several times over, one key aspect of the archetypal superhero experience has largely been missing: sidekicks. Although a superhero has long been considered incomplete without a wise-cracking boy wonder by his side, the recent Hero Renaissance has all but left lackeys behind altogether.
Take, for example, Batman and Robin, possibly the most iconic superhero/sidekick pairing of all time. Despite being a major part of the comics for over 50 years, Robin has only appeared in three live-action films, the most recent of which was 1997’s Batman and Robin. Although Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake character in The Dark Knight Rises was revealed, in the film's final moments, to be a nod to Robin, this was hardly a bona fide appearance for the character.
Then there’s Bucky Barnes, Captain America’s loyal sidekick, who didn’t get much to do in Captain America: The First Avenger before he disappeared and resurfaced as the Winter Soldier. This time around, Cap’s partners-in-crime are Black Widow and Falcon, both of whom are heroes in their own right.
Batgirl, meanwhile, has only made it into one live-action film – again, Batman and Robin – despite being a major character with her own long-standing comic tradition. Jubilee is often a sidekick to Wolverine in the X-Men comics, but she has never received more than a cameo appearance in any of the films, and none of that screen time would give new audiences the impression that the two characters had any sort of relationship. Both Batgirl and Jubilee have strong fan bases who would likely love to see their favorite characters make it to the big screen. Yet despite having interesting and important storylines in the books, they can’t seem to cross over.
Why, if these characters are so important and popular, are the sidekicks getting cut out of these films? Well, for a start, sidekicks are often portrayed as ridiculous characters, designed for comic relief and to occasionally bail the hero our of whatever trouble he’s gotten into. Although the books give them interesting, compelling backstories and plots that help turn them into a three-dimensional character, their appearances in live-action works haven’t been as layered. It's hard to take Robin seriously as a character when the prevailing image of him featured goofy tights and and eager-to-please attitude. With the trend of superhero films leaning towards the gritty these past few years, there’s no longer a place for the goofy sidekick.
Walt Disney Co via Everett Collection
Warning: The following contains spoilers regarding the identity of the Winter Soldier in the upcoming Captain America film.
Even if the film isn’t aiming for dark realism, it’s hard to translate many sidekick characteristics without the coming across as grating or annoying. When Iron Man 3 added Harley to the film, many audiences were divided over the character. Some found him to be annoying and unnecessary, whereas others thought he added a much-needed venue to explore different elements of Tony Stark’s personality. Comic book sidekicks can suffer from this as well, which likely makes filmmakers reluctant to put them in the movies.. For every X-Men fan who loves Jubilee, there’s one who finds her mall-girl persona insufferable.
Instead, the sidekicks are replaced by other heroes. When Wolverine isn’t being a “lone wolf,” he’s surrounded by major X-Men characters; whoever is closest to him in that film depends on what story the filmmakers are trying to tell. Nolan’s Batman got backup form Catwoman in the most recent film, and even though Falcon’s role in The Winter Soldier fits the idea of what a sidekick would be, the character will likely play a major role in upcoming films. If the Marvel Cinematic Universe decides to stick with the comic book plots, he will become a full-fledged member of the Avengers, and so even now he is treated like a full-fledged hero. If the Winter Soldier ever returns to his old identity as Bucky Barnes, it’s likely that instead of falling back into his old sidekick role, he will be given a larger, more vital part, especially if rumors about Sebastian Stan taking over as Captain America are true.
It’s easier to have your hero supported by other heroes because they have backstories and layers of their own, which usually makes for a better character onscreen, and therefore, a better film. There’s more to work with and more to explore, which allows filmmakers more freedom with the kind of stories that they want to tell. Plus, with regular heroes, audiences don’t have to sit through the annoying puppy-dog stage that all sidekicks seem to go through. Instead, all of the characters are on equal footing, all of them are interesting to watch, and all of them are just as capable of taking down the villain. Besides, more heroes makes for more films, and it's easier to launch a new franchise when you already know how audiences are going to respond to a major character.
However, it is possible to put a sidekick onscreen and not have the film devolve into pure camp. The Iron Man films have allowed Rhodey to be both a traditional sidekick to Tony Stark as well as a funny, interesting, fan favorite. Part of this is due to the fact that the films tend to lean more heavily towards comedy than the rest of the universe, which allows them to explore the idea of a goofy, ridiculous sidekick. When Rhodey cracks jokes, it works because Tony is doing the exact same thing, so there’s no tonal dissonance. But Rhodey also takes part in some of the films’ more serious elements as well. When the films delve more deeply into what’s going on in Tony’s head, his friendship with Rhodey is given a greater weight, and that friendship gives the audience a better insight into Tony as a character. And, of course, he’s around for the major battle sequences, where he does just as much fighting and is just as vital to the villain’s defeat, even though it’s clear that Tony is the one in command.
Though Rhodey has proven that the new generation of superhero films can find room in their lineup for an old-fashioned sidekick, it still doesn't seem likely that other franchises are will be bringing the sidekick back to theaters. For one, the serious, gritty superhero film doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon, with The Winter Soldier exploring the political thriller genre and Batman Vs. Superman planning to bring back the dark, jaded hero. Those films just don't allow for a wise-cracking, tights-wearing sidekick. Even if they did, it's still more likely that a hero who could play a major role in future films will play that part instead. As the superhero universes continue to expand and intercept, sidekicks will continue to be lost in the shuffle, since big-names heroes are always a bigger audience draw than a sidekick, no matter how well-loved they are by fans.
Which means that in the end, the best way for a sidekick to make it to the big screen is for them to embrace their own heroic destiny, and anchor a franchise of their own. After all, Bucky Barnes didn't become a major character in the Marvel Universe until he was brainwashed and turned into a vigilante, and and knowing that Falcon will eventually join the Avengers makes up for the little he gets to do in The Winter Soldier. If studios are afraid of bringing sidekicks, in all of their dumb, tights-clad glory to the big screen, then it might make more sense for them to skip past the awkward stages and bring their own heroic adventures to life. Because in the end, wouldn't we all prefer to watch a Nightwing movie than to sit through Robin tagging along on whatever Batman's doing?
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Paramount via Everett Collection
Warning: The following contains a major spoiler for Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe grows and becomes even more successful, fans have begun to notice a problem when it comes to the actors’ contracts, especially in the case of Captain America.
Chris Evans has portrayed the lovable Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel’s The Avengers, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier — but Evans signed a contract with Marvel Studios to do only six films; he’s already halfway done! (Apparently, this Thor: The Dark World cameo didn't count.) Since he will appear in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the third Captain America film that has already been greenlit by the studio, Evans will only have one other unspecified movie before he fulfills his contract.
What’s curious, and what’s drawing most attention from fans, is the fact that Sebastian Stan has a nine-film contract with Marvel. As many know (since it’s the worst kept secret in superhero films) Stan portrayed Bucky Barnes in The First Avenger, and again in the newest Captain America film as Bucky/the Winter Solider.
In the comic books, Bucky inherits the costume of Captain America after Steve Rogers dies. Given the contracts of both Stan and Evans, it seems likely that the Captain America films will follow the same, or a similar, story.
But why does that matter?
It’s never been done before in a superhero franchise. Sure, when superheroes are rebooted, new actors are cast in the same role — or in some cases, like the ‘80s-‘90s Batman films, they’re recast with no explanation. But a franchise has never had characters pass the reins from one person to the next, even though it’s common practice in the comics.
If the Captain America series pulls off the shift from Steve Rogers to Bucky Barnes, it could start the trend of not just Marvel, but DC as well, extending superhero franchises past an actor’s contract. Although many speculate that Evans will not extend his Marvel contract, it doesn’t affect the Captain America films because the studio won’t need him. Basically, superhero franchises could go on forever (instead of just feeling like they do).
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